Chapter 231
When Zhou Jiani received Qiu Zeming's call again, she was so exhausted that she had become even darker.
"Is the training mission heavy? Have you gone for another review?"
The call was received at the Qianjin Brigade. Zhou Jiani held the microphone in one hand and rubbed her calf with the other. Xiao Min made her some tea and pushed it over to her, then quietly went out for a walk with Bai Haoyang.
Zhou Jiani didn't let her sit idle either. She hired her as an assistant and followed her around for a few days.
Qiu Zeming's slightly distorted voice came through the microphone: "I've had a checkup, and I'm recovering well. I can already do some simple daily exercises. How are you doing over there? Has the county started that project?"
"It's been launched. Professor Fu has been invited over. Professor Zhao also sent a student here yesterday, and Professor Fu is leading the effort. We've already visited more than half of the communes in Bin County, and three have been designated as pilot sites. However, Professor Fu suspects a drought this year, so we've been contacting relevant experts to confirm this... In short, the challenges ahead are significant, and County Magistrate Wang is under immense pressure..."
Fortunately, County Magistrate Wang was willing to listen to Professor Fu's advice. Moreover, there has not been much rain since the beginning of summer this year, and it has not rained for a long time recently, so we still have to face the problem of water use. The county has set up a special task force, divided into several groups, each with its own responsibilities.
There have been many large and small meetings in the county these days. There are still voices of opposition, but they are much smaller.
Time passed very quickly in the busyness, and it was almost time for school to start. Zhou Jiani finished her work here a week early and returned to Qi Yang.
Meng Wen didn't stay so late. After seeing that her uncle didn't need her care, she returned to Qi Yang.
Bai Haoyang returned a few days earlier than Zhou Jiani. He sent Xiao Min back first and then took a bus back to the capital.
Lu Minjuan also finished work a few days early and went home. She also had to go back to the capital early to make arrangements for her mother and Feng Ya. She wanted to take them to familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment before school started. After school started, she would consider applying for day schooling from the school.
Professor Fu is not in a hurry. He has been spending every day in the bramble fields and willow forests recently. During this time, he asked his friends to mail him some information and was obsessed with his research.
He sent a few students back first, and took a few young people from the village who were studying with him, and returned to the capital reluctantly a few days after school started.
After being sun-bathed for most of the summer vacation, he became a dark and thin old man, but he was in very good spirits.
Zhou Jiani returned to Qiyang and was met with laughter from her mother: "Why are you so tanned?"
Zhou Jiani was helpless too. Who told her to block such a task for herself? Even secretly applying a facial mask couldn't save her immediately.
Seeing her daughter Heibuludiu becoming as thin as a bamboo pole, Yu Huifang felt both amused and distressed. She didn't know how to make her daughter white again immediately, but she wanted to make up for her lost weight, so she hurried to buy ribs and meat.
Jiang Xinfeng told her the good news mysteriously: "Your aunt's son Hong Ming was admitted to Aurora University in Shanghai."
Zhou Jiani was pleasantly surprised: "Really? That's great. Has my aunt been home this summer?"
"He hasn't come back yet, probably until the end of the year. Your mother sent him a package a few days ago..."
The grandparents and grandchildren were chatting animatedly. When Zhou Jiani went out to get the kettle of boiling water, she saw Liu Aifang in the corridor. Liu Aifang pretended not to see her and walked past.
Zhou Jiani returned to the room and asked Jiang Xinfeng, "Did Liu Ailing pass the exam?"
She was so busy in Bin County recently that she had completely forgotten about Liu Ailing. If she hadn't seen Liu Aifang today, she wouldn't have remembered her.
Jiang Xinfeng shook her head. "I haven't heard anything. The Liu family has been very quiet lately. They either stay indoors or don't gather together to gossip."
Zhou Jiani thought about the family's temperament and asked, "Isn't Lu Cuilan cursing all the time?"
Jiang Xinfeng: "It would be strange if I didn't say it."
Zhou Jiani chuckled: "Then he must have passed the exam."
If Liu Ailing failed the exam, Lu Cuilan would certainly feel ashamed, but she would be more angry about the food she had to eat at home during the few months she stayed there. Lu Cuilan would definitely vent her anger at home, as her temper could not be changed.
Unless the family really wants to produce someone who will bring honor to the family, and this person can control her, Lu Cuilan will be a quail for a few days and cooperate with someone to make a big move.
"I've lost face before, and I guess he wants to wait for Liu Ailing to come back with the notice, so he can regain his face."
The calm before the storm.
Sure enough, when she came out to help Yu Huifang in the afternoon, she saw Liu Ailing carrying her luggage upstairs.
Zhou Jiani turned around when she heard the noise, and Liu Ailing happened to be looking over. She smiled and spoke in a friendly tone, as if all the unpleasantness had never happened, just like their relationship before. She raised her voice and said, "Jiani, when are you going to the capital? Let's go together!"
How could Zhou Jiani help her put on a show? She ignored him and turned her head away.
But the neighbor on the same floor asked curiously: "Ailing, did you get into college?"
Liu Ailing nodded: "Yes, auntie, I also passed the exam and got admitted to the capital!"
He also glanced at Zhou Jiani while speaking.
The person who spoke to her was Li Yan's mother, Wu Hong. She asked, "Did you get into Huazhong University of Science and Technology, too?"
Liu Ailing's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled: "Huida University isn't the only university in the capital."
Yes, there are not only Huazhong University of Science and Technology in the capital, but the best schools are just a few. However, people don’t take this too seriously. They subconsciously believe that as long as they can get into the capital, they are capable.
Many neighbors heard the noise and came out of their homes, congratulating them.
When someone asked her which school she had been admitted to, Liu Ailing replied vaguely, "Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School."
Lu Cuilan came out of the house and said loudly, "Hey, Third girl, you're finally back. Your father has been waiting to see your admission letter for a few days. He also told you to come back quickly to buy a ticket, otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy one if you were late. I just went to buy a ticket for Aifang yesterday..."
There was a lively look between his eyebrows.
But the corridor was in an uproar. A neighbor asked, "Did your Aifang get into college too?"
Liu Aifang also took the college entrance examination this year, but with Liu Ailing staying at home all day, Liu Aifang was not conspicuous.
This was like a thunderclap, and it really shocked everyone.
Lu Cuilan couldn't hide the pride on her face.
One neighbor had a strange look on his face. Liu Aifang was such a poor student, how could she even pass the exam? It seemed like good feng shui had struck the Liu family this year, with two golden phoenixes appearing at once.
Liu Ailing said with a smile in the corridor: "My tutoring for Sini was not in vain." This seemed to be an explanation.
Many neighbors suddenly realized that Liu Ailing had taken leave specifically to come back and review, so it would be strange if she failed the exam.
She reviewed and also helped Liu Aifang with her lessons, and that's how she passed the exam.
The Liu family was bustling with activity.
At the Zhou family's side, Jiang Xinfeng didn't expect her granddaughter to actually guess it. She whispered to Zhou Jiani, "What's the name of the school she got into?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the School of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, which was renamed in the first half of this year."
But the Liu family didn’t mention or say where Liu Aifang got into the exam, and they were very mysterious.
Zhou Jiani took the time to ask her mother whether the children from her aunt's and uncle's families passed the exam.
Her aunt's sons Guoqing and Guochang were admitted to the college, one to a local school and the other to a university in Henan Province. A banquet was held at home, and her uncle came to invite them personally. Zhou Wanli and Yu Huifang went.
"Your eldest uncle's son, Yu Yang, didn't pass the exam." Yu Huifang sneered, "He ignored me when he saw me. It's just the right thing to do... Your youngest uncle also went, but your uncle-in-law had a few drinks and started settling old scores. He said that it was about your aunt asking him to work, and they almost got into a fight."
In short, it was very unpleasant.
Zhou Jiani nodded: "Fortunately, my two cousins have done well on their own."
Yu Huifang deeply agrees with this.
After staying at home for two days, Zhou Jiani set off to return to the capital. During this time, Liu Jiefang came to her house and tried to take the opportunity to make her reconcile with Liu Ailing, saying that they should leave on the same day so that they could take care of each other on the road. Zhou Jiani refused.
Besides, she asked someone to buy the sleeper ticket, so it was impossible for her to use her connections to buy a sleeper ticket for Liu Ailing as well. As for squeezing into a hard seat with her, sorry, they were not that kind of people.
After arriving in the capital, she went to the Qiu family. Du Yunxin was also surprised to see her and said with a smile, "Why are you so tanned?"
"Don't mention it, my skin is bald due to sun exposure." Zhou Jiani has been secretly applying facial masks at night these past few days, but it can't be saved in a short time.
Fortunately, her skin is in good condition and it will return to normal after a few days of treatment.
When Mr. Qiu knew that she had returned to the place where she had worked in the countryside before, he expressed his concern for her at the dinner table. He heard that the county had restarted the greenhouse project, and Zhou Jiani had invited an old professor from the capital to help drive the development of local agriculture.
Old Mr. Qiu was quite pleased and proud of his granddaughter-in-law. He waved his hand and gave her a thick red envelope for the start of school.
Zhou Jiani quickly waved her hand: "No need, Grandpa Qiu, I earn three salaries, and the local government also subsidizes a lot of tickets and food. I still have two bags of wheat on the way..."
It's not on the way, it's in the warehouse.
"You can't refuse a gift from an elder. Take it."
The old man was stubborn, and Du Yunxin also urged her to keep it, so Zhou Jiani had no choice but to take it: "Thank you, Grandpa Qiu."
When the weather gets cold, ask someone to bring a few more baskets of vegetables home.
She also asked Zhao Mei for help, asking her to help her collect dried cowpeas, and to continue to need rice noodles and vermicelli from her eldest brother's family, as well as peanuts, melon seeds, walnuts, dried dates, etc. After all, they were all dry goods, so they would not go bad if they were stored. She would help bring them over when she happened to have a car.
I’ll send some to the Qiu family when the time comes.
After staying at the Qiu family's for one night, I went to Professor Fu's house the next day. Although Professor Fu had not returned yet, Yao Huizhen was at home and Meng Wen had also returned. When Zhou Jiani arrived, she was helping to knead the dough and prepare to steam some buns.
Zhou Jiani rolled up her sleeves to help, and while she was busy, she talked about Professor Fu's current situation. Yao Huizhen said helplessly, "Farming is his life. When he's busy, he doesn't even care about his family. He was suffocated all those years, and this time he finally caught him..."
Zhou Jiani teased her: "When you come back, don't let the old man in. Just say, 'You go with the crops.'"
Yao Huizhen laughed out loud.
After having a meal with Aunt Yao, Zhou Jiani and Meng Wen accompanied her downstairs for a walk before leaving.
She first took a detour to the post office to call Zhai Hong. After she finally contacted Zhai Hong, the two of them decided on the delivery time, place and quantity over the phone as if using a secret code.
She didn't go back to the Qiu family at night, but went to the small courtyard in Shichahai.
When her neighbors saw her coming back, they all greeted her, and the most common phrase they said was, "Why are you so tanned?"
Zhou Jiani was also helpless and just covered it up slowly.
Aunt Du must have come to clean the house, as it wasn't dirty. Zhou Jiani rinsed the dishes with hot water, prepared a chicken and stewed it, simmering it over low heat. She went into the house and used the fan to cool down.
I took out some fruits from the warehouse shelves and made myself a fruit plate. I also took out a bottle of iced cola, ate the fruits and drank the cola, and relaxed for a rare time.
The stewed chicken is set aside for tonight's meal, and the rest, along with the clay pot, is placed in the warehouse so that people can take it out whenever they want to eat it.
I rode my bike out early the next morning and came back an hour and a half later. There were only some vegetables hanging symbolically on the handlebars, but there were actually more than 600 duck eggs in the warehouse.
The first thing I did when I walked in was to open the box and eat one. The quality remained the same, still oily, egg yolk-rich and soft, and it was incredibly delicious.
Because Qiu Zeming left in a hurry, he couldn't take the duck eggs he planned to take with him. Zhou Jiani planned to send them all to Qiu Zeming and she came back to pack them.
I packed them into three boxes, wrapped them each with old newspapers, and stuffed them into the boxes. I also stuffed a lot of old newspapers into the gaps to reduce shock.
The mailing speed is slow. Although duck eggs are salty and not easy to spoil, if they arrive earlier, her boyfriend can eat them earlier and she can also share some with her comrades.
Zhou Jiani took the initiative to ask Mr. Qiu for help.
When she heard that she had bought 600 duck eggs out of her own pocket and wanted to send them to the front line to share with Qiu Zeming's comrades, Mr. Qiu readily agreed. He made a phone call and asked about the truck that would be delivering supplies in three days. Zhou Jiani hurriedly said, "Grandpa Qiu, I'll go back and prepare it."
What are you preparing? Of course, you're going to bring some private goods.
There were still pieces of raw beef and pork belly on Zhou Jiani's shelf, but she felt the quantity was not enough, so she went to the grocery store, but they were out of stock, so she could only buy two pounds of pork tenderloin.
While sending red envelopes in the group to urgently purchase beef jerky, he also took shortcuts by going into alleys.
Beef was very scarce at that time. I searched for two days but couldn’t buy any. Instead, I bought 20 kilograms of five-spice beef jerky from the group.
She then processed the ready-made piece of beef, packaged it separately, and added some peanuts and melon seeds to make a heavy package. She sent it to the Qiu family that night along with the duck eggs. The car was leaving the next day and she would start school the next day, so she had to ask the Qiu family for help.
At the beginning of the new semester, before the classes officially started, the students in the class were eager to make blackboard newspapers, eager to express all the problems that had been suppressed over the summer vacation.
Lu Minjuan was called to the class committee meeting. Zhou Jiani, the team leader, was not qualified to attend. She was having a lively time with her roommates, listening to them chattering about family matters during the summer vacation, and listening to Zhao Mingzhu and Tian Yuan talk about how they helped welcome the new students two days ago.
Because Zhou Jiani was pressed for time and busy helping Qiu Zeming pack his things, she did not come to school early and did not participate in the welcome activities.
When she had some free time, Zhou Jiani said to Zhai Hong, "I've sent all those duck eggs to my boyfriend. I'm still placing orders with my aunt."
Zhai Hong nodded: "Okay, I'll keep them all for you."
This is much better than her mother going from door to door to sell her goods.
In the afternoon, Lv Minjuan came back and dropped a bombshell: "Classmates, our Economics Department is planning to publish its own journal."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
